“Keep going,” I demanded, folding my arms across my chest.
“Greene’s practice was in trouble five years ago, bordering on bankruptcy.”
“Let me guess, today it's not.”
“Not by any means. Greene’s practice reported a seven figure profit last year. Not revenues. Profit.”
I frowned. “I know the damn difference. Keep going, Sy,” I demanded. Sy tended toward the dramatic when delivering information he had that no one else did. Usually, it didn’t bother me, right then, it was teetering on pissing me off.
He sighed dramatically. “Greene has McDowell listed as a patient of his.”
“McDowell and Tom Walker had the same primary.”
“There’s connection number one, but my thinking is that McDowell and Greene have some kind of connection beyond doctor and patient.”
“They’d also need some financial backers.”
“Begin looking up any charities that Greene may be associated with.”
“Already done. That’s why you pay me very well.” He grinned as he handed me another paper. “Children’s Crusade. It’s an organization where Greene was on the board of directors. The purpose of the nonprofit is to provide opportunities for at-risk teens.”
I peered up at Sy. “This name is familiar.” I tossed the papers in my hand down on my desk and pulled open my top drawer, removing the old file I had with me since I left the rangers. Flipping through the pages, I came to a stop at one of the sheets I’d written that same name down. “Children’s Crusade.” I tapped the paper with my finger. “That’s the same place Karyn Titum volunteered at before her disappearance, and—”
I cut myself off as I searched for the notes I’d taken while talking with Amy Cherny’s foster mother. “Yup, Amy had gone there for a few months for their after-school program. They have offices in all three counties where the girls went missing.”
“Son of a bitch,” Sy murmured.
I shook my head, feeling my anger burning through me. “These bastards somehow took advantage of their chance to help the most vulnerable in our society.” I was still sketchy on the details, but this new information, coupled with what I learned up in Dallas, was enough to allow me to put some of the pieces together.
“There are multiple offices of this supposed charity organization throughout the state,” Sy added.
I nodded. “They’re taking teenage girls and impregnating them.”
His eyes bulged. “What?”
“For profit.”
He gave me a questionable expression.
“They’re—”
“You lying jackass.”
I blinked and pivoted my attention from Sy to my office doorway, where a furious Jodi stood. She was glaring at me, and that feeling in my stomach that’d been warning me that my deception would sooner or later catch up with me was back. With a vengeance.
“Jodi—”
“Don’t Jodi me,” she demanded. “How long have you been keeping secrets, Micah? When were you going to tell me that you found the guy who attacked me?”
I parted my lips again, but a groan that came from beside Jodi caught my attention. Hound looked at me with his head cocked to the side, as if I’d betrayed him as well.
“Sy, get out,” I ordered.
For once, he didn’t waste time being a smartass, as he walked out.
“Eventually. I was going to tell you sooner or later.”
“Eventually,” she sneered. “When was that going to be? Next year? He’s dead. You didn’t think I should know that.”
